Hainan opens 3 duty-free shops

海南增三家离岛免税店

Three new offshore¹ duty-free shops opened on Wednesday in South China's island province of Hainan to promote tax-free consumption, according to the provincial² department of commerce.

海南省商务厅表示，为促进免税消费，12月30日，三家离岛免税店在海南省正式开业。

The three newly-opened shops are all located in the tropical resort city of Sanya, one in Sanya Phoenix³ International Airport and the other two in downtown Sanya.

新开业的三家离岛免税店均位于热带度假城市三亚，一家位于三亚凤凰国际机场，另外两家位于三亚市内。

The larger of the two downtown locations has a shopping area of 95,000 square meters, offering nearly 350 international brands.

其中三亚市内较大的一家免税店经营面积9.5万平方米，经营近350个国际知名品牌。

The province earlier had four duty-free shops, with two in the provincial capital, Haikou, one in Bo'ao and one in Sanya, all operated by China Duty Free Group.

此前海南省有4家免税店，其中两家位于省会海口，一家在博鳌，一家在三亚，均由中免集团运营。

However, two of the three new shops are operated by another two companies.

然而，新开业的三家免税店中有两家是由另外两家公司经营的。

The arrival of the two firms will help Hainan form a pattern of differentiated⁴ competition and better meet tourists' needs for duty-free shopping, according to an official with the department.

海南省商务厅的一名官员表示，引入另外两家公司将有助于形成差异化竞争格局，更好地满足游客的免税购物需求。

Sales of offshore duty-free shops in the province have exceeded 31.58 billion yuan so far this year. The number of shoppers has exceeded 3.4 million, purchasing more than 19 million items, up 130 percent, year-on-year.

今年以来，海南4家离岛免税店总销售额超过315.8亿元，购物人数超过340万人，共购买商品1900余万件，购买商品数量同比增长130%。